Fevers
by LostInLibraries
Summary: Will and Jem have both come down with a fever. Tessa takes care of them. Sickfic.


**Hello! So this is my first fanfiction on here. Not much else to say except enjoy!**

* * *

It was weird; one second Will felt completely fine, the next he was overcome with fatigue. He blinked. He couldn't succumb to his tiredness, he had to stay alert. He and Jem were out on a hunt in the middle of Hyde Park, and if he wasn't completely alert...

"Will?" Jem asked softly. "Are you alright?"

Will sniffled. "Splendid."

Will's parabatai stared him down until he gave a more truthful answer.

"Alright," Will gave in. "I may be a little... Spent."

"Dead on your feet, more like." Jem said with a grin, although his concern was evident in his gaze. "Did you sleep last night?"

"No." The Herondale admitted. It was true; a persistent cough had kept him up most of the night, and when he managed to actually fall asleep, it was a fitful sleep.

"Should we go back to the institute?" Jem asked worriedly. "Will, if you're ill-"

"I am not ill." Will said stubbornly, despite the fact that everything he felt right now suggested illness. "Let's keep going."

"Your nose is running." Jem persisted. Will sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve while his parabatai looked at him expectantly. "You really should be-"

Jem cut himself off and pointed to a bush, where there was a slight movement.

"There," he said, unsheathing his sword/cane. Will didn't react fast enough, and when the demon jumped out from the bushes, he sustained a nasty scratch on his upper arm. Jem shot him a concerned look, but was too busy fighting off the demon. Once Will had recovered from the shock, he pulled a knife from his belt and threw it. The blade sunk right into it's chest, and the demon dematerialized.

At that moment, Will coughed, then found himself doubled over in a fit of coughing. In a heartbeat, Jem was rubbing gentle circles on his back until he could breathe again.

"Are you alright?" Jem asked worriedly. Will nodded, afraid that if he spoke, he'd aggravate his raw throat even more. "Let's go back to the Institute. You should rest."

"I am not ill." Will protested as they walked. Jem gave a small, polite smile, insinuating that he knew that Will was actually sick, but didn't want to say anything about it and elicit an argument from his parabatai.

When the two made it back to the Institute, they were met by Charlotte and Tessa. Tessa was absorbed in a book. Charlotte looked surprised to see them back so early.

"That was quicker than expected." She remarked, looking at the boys questioningly.

"Will is..." Jem paused, searching for the right words. "Under the weather."

"I am not!" Will exclaimed, but the strain on his throat was evidently too much, as he began to cough.

"You do look a little peaked." Tessa remarked, looking up from the book she was reading and frowning. She stood up and walked over to where Will was, placed her palm on his forehead, then brushed his cheek with the back of her hand. "And you're feverish. You should go lie down."

Jem nodded in agreement. "Will, you really don't look well."

"Oh, hush." Will said. "I am insanely attractive."

"Insanely infected, more like." Tessa muttered under her breath. Jem fought a smile, and was losing.

"Come on," Jem grabbed Will's arm. "I'll get you to bed. You need an iratze anyway."

Surprisingly, Will didn't even attempt to protest as Jem led him down the hallway to his bedroom. Will's parabatai sat him down on his bed, pulled his coat off of him, and began to draw an iratze on his upper arm. The rune disappeared as the cut began to heal.

"How do you feel?" Jem said in a low voice. "And be honest."

"Honestly..." Will sighed. "Miserable."

"You need to sleep." Jem told him gently. "I'll check back on you later."

Will was too tired to argue, and curled up under the covers, reveling in his misery for a second as Jem left and closed the door quietly. Why did he have to be ill? Why today? Then he fell asleep.

* * *

With Will absent, the afternoon in the Institute was unusually quiet. Tessa was curled up by the fire, absorbed in a book, and Jem, she guessed, was in the music room playing his violin. His melodic playing grew louder and louder, and Tessa found herself focusing more on the music than the book, so she gave up reading and pursued the music.

She crept into the music room, so as not to disturb Jem, and listened to the song he was playing. He was deeply focused on gliding the bow across the strings until he paused, coughing. Tessa jumped.

"Jem, are you alright?" She asked, concerned. "Are you having another... Attack?"

Jem shook his head, having regained his composure. He looked confused. "This is different."

"Are you ill?"

"My head is pounding and I can't breathe through my nose, if that's what you mean." Jem ended his sentence with a sneeze. Tessa stepped closer to him and reached up to his forehead.

"Oh, Jem." She sighed. "You are feverish, I'm afraid. You've come down with the same thing Will has, no doubt. How long have you been feeling poorly?"

The shadowhunter sneezed again, looking miserable. "I've only been... Ill... for a few hours. I don't know what happened."

"You should go rest," Tessa said firmly. "We can't have you getting any worse."

"Don't worry about me," Jem protested weakly. "I'm fine."

She grabbed his forearm and led him to his bedroom. When they arrived, Jem laid down on his bed with a cough. Tessa looked at him in concern, but there was no blood and Jem appeared to be fine, albeit a little miserable, but otherwise fine.

She helped him take off his coat, so that he was left in just a shirt and trousers, then she tucked his blanket around him.

"Can I get you anything?" Tessa asked. Jem hesitated.

"No," he said shyly. "But will you stay?"

"Well," Tessa was caught off guard. "Alright."

* * *

Will woke up with his voice nearly gone and his muscles aching. He figured that he could use another iratze, and headed to Jem's bedroom to hopefully track down his parabatai. When Will knocked on the door, he was met by Tessa, much to his surprise.

"Jem is ill as well," she explained, before he could ask.

"He had an attack?" Will croaked.

"No, no," Tessa said hurriedly, to ease any of Will's worry. "He's come down with the same illness as you."

Will meant to reply, but sneezed loudly instead. The sneeze irritated his already sore throat even more. He winced.

"By the Angel, you should be resting." Tessa scolded him. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Will suddenly felt overcome by fatigue. "I thought I'd have Jem draw another iratze, but-" he coughed, loud enough to wake up his parabatai, who had been dozing restlessly on his bed. Jem sat up and blinked at Will, his normally pale skin flushed feverishly. If he had to guess, Will would say that he himself was probably also flushed. His head felt heavy and hot, while his body shook with chills.

The girl's face softened. "Are you feeling any better, at least?"

Will shrugged. He was feeling too achy and miserable to lie about it, as he normally did with illness. His head spun, and he clung to Tessa's shoulder to keep himself upright.

"Tess..." He said croakily.

"You need to lie down." Tessa said. "Do you think you can make it back to your bedroom?"

Jem scooted over and made a space on his bed. "Just stay here, Will."

Will was too tired to argue, and laid down in the space next to Jem, falling asleep as soon as his body hit the mattress.

"I'll get Sophie to bring some medicine." Tessa decided.

* * *

Sophie entered Jem's bedroom with two cups of an herbal medicine, one for Will and one for Jem, while Bridget followed with a bowl of soup and cups of water for each of them. Both of the boys were asleep, their lips parted endearingly and their hair adorably rumpled.

"Thank you," Tessa said, smiling politely at Sophie and Bridget as they exited. She shook Will awake gently, then Jem, and handed them the cups of medicine. "Drink this. It'll help."

Will made a face as he swallowed.

"That's revolting." He complained, his voice hoarse and gravelly. Jem downed the medicine and, much to his apparent disgust, a small amount of yin fen, without complaint.

"Oh, hush." Tessa said to Will. "It will help you feel better. Now, have some soup, both of you."

After eating, Will promptly fell asleep again, but Jem got out of bed and sat in front of the fire, next to Tessa. He was wrapped in a quilt to combat the chills, and his silvery hair was disheveled. His head peeked out from the blanket, cheeks rosy, eyes glassy, and his nose red and inflamed.

"How are you feeling?" Tessa asked softly, so she wouldn't wake Will. Jem shrugged.

"Lousy." He answered. "I've never really been ill like this. Usually a mixture of shadowhunter blood and the yin fen in my system burns away such illnesses, other than the effects of the drug, obviously. To be ill like this is strange."

Over on the other side of the room, Will stirred in his sleep, snoring lightly.

"Did... Did taking more of the drug help?" Tessa asked tentatively. Jem nodded.

"I wish it didn't." He said, staring into the fire, his tone like acid.

Tessa sighed. "I know."

Suddenly, Jem sneezed, then wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"Here," Tessa said, handing him a clean handkerchief that Sophie had brought up earlier. He took it gratefully and blew his nose, then coughed. To Tessa's relief, there was no blood in his cough.

"I'm alright, Tessa." Jem reassured her.

"I know, it's just... I worry about you." She said. And the next thing she knew, they were kissing.

Jem's feverish lips were against hers, and she could taste the sweetness of the yin fen and whatever herbs were in the medicine on his lips. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel Jem's wheezy breathing on her, due to his stuffed up nose.

Then Will stirred. Tessa and Jem jumped in surprise and broke apart, but Will was still very much asleep. Jem was now blushing furiously, if being even more flushed was possible in his current state.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I do not want you to catch my illness-"

"Warlocks cannot catch these sort of ailments, it's alright." Tessa said gently. "But let's get you back in bed. The more sleep you can get, the better off you are."

Jem let her lead him to his bed and she tucked the blankets around both him and Will, who was sleeping restlessly. Will's nose was running, and his mouth hanging open. Tessa guessed that he was congested.

As Jem began to drift off, she kissed his forehead, which was still too warm for her liking. Jem's lips were parted slightly, and at the kiss, he smiled unconsciously.

When Jem was asleep, Tessa bent over Will and kissed him on the cheek, which, like Jem's forehead, was still feverishly warm.

Once she made sure both boys were alright, she took her place by the fire once more and dozed off.

* * *

 **So what did you think? Good? Bad? Should I continue or just leave it as it is?**


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